Special Education

The
Council of the Great City Schools has long advocated for students with
disabilities special needs, conducting strategic support teams and
research to advise our members how to leverage resources and systems to
improve student achievement.

Special Education Strategic Support Teams

The
Council teams work hard to examine the accountability of schools and
principals for serving students with disabilities and the delivery of
rigorous grade level instruction aligned with state standards with
appropriate accommodations. This includes the analysis of child find,
inclusive practices, equitable delivery of programs and services,
staffing, parent engagement, strategies to address the disproportionate
placement and discipline of minority students, professional development
and behavior management for students with disabilities. Meeting the
needs of students with disabilities include the Council recommendations
for multi-tiered system of academic and behavioral interventions. There
has been considerable research supporting the use of multi-tiered system
of interventions, universal screenings, progress monitoring and
data-based decision making for students with reading and behavioral
challenges in general education to avoid unnecessary reliance on special
education services and to reduce disproportionate placement of students
by race and ethnicity.

Special Education Policy, Legislation, and Case Law

The
Council has been at the forefront of policy, legislation, and case law
affecting federal support and programs for students with disabilities
special needs. The Director of Government Relations, Jeff Simering, and
Legislative Counsel, Julie Wright Halbert, have worked extensively on
the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) in 1997 and 2004. On behalf of the Council, they are responsible
for drafting numerous technical provisions to the IDEA and providing
technical assistance to Congress and the U. S. Department of Education.
In 1997 and, again, in 2005, they testified before the U.S. Department
of Education on its proposed regulations on IDEA. The Council has
facilitated special education strategic support teams in many cities
around the nation, including the District of Columbia, Guilford County
(NC), Richmond, St. Louis, Charleston, New York City, Rochester, Boston,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Providence and St. Paul.

The Council has provided amicus briefs in the Supreme Court of the United States for many special education related cases. This includes Board of Education of the City School District of the City of New York v. Tom F., On Behalf of Gilbert F., A Minor Child (2007); Jacob Winkelman, a Minor By and Through His Parents and Legal Guardians, Jeff and Sander Winkelman, et al.,v. Parma City School District (2007); Brian Schaffer v. Jerry Weast, Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, et al., (2005); Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (2007) and Forest Grove School District v. T.A, (2009).